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The Naked Truth about Marriage...

Our new teaching series kicked off this week... The Naked Truth of Love and Marriage!

We started with the truth that marriage is God's idea and therefore...we need to go to Him and His Word to determine what marriage is. Too often, people think marriage is a human idea and we bring our thoughts about it to God and ask Him to ok them... we have it backwards!

God's view of marriage... one man, one woman, together forever. Period.

The foundation for this kind of marriage, according to God's plan, is the commitment, the covenant, the promise vows spoken to each other at the wedding... everything in marriage goes back to the vows...

So often, the majority of the time, we have issues in our marriages (and even go to divorce) because we (either one or both spouses) do not or are not willing keep our word and honor the vows made before God... and that's the Naked Truth!

But, there is hope... God gives us the strength, when we turn to Him for help, to keep our marriage promise... He is that good!

Download The Naked Truth - Marriage

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

Nope, this is not a post about a politician. And this has nothing to do with the song "Pants on the Ground"!

Instead, this is about the last week of our "Break Free" series that we finished this past Sunday. We concluded with the topic of lies... and how often, we believe lies and live, think, and act as if they are true...and these lies, told to us and authored by Satan, hold us captive. But, freedom is found in the Truth, which has always come from God, our Father!

Here is the mp3 from yesterday... Download Break Free from Lies

You can access all the teachings from this series here on the blog or by going to the audio page on our website...

Continue to help and pray for the people of Haiti...

After two weeks, the aftermath of the earthquake is still (obviously) being felt in Haiti. The recovery, care, and prayer for this country from this event will continue to be needed for years to come... and yet, God is still moving and doing miracles... did you see this story about a girl being found alive after 15 days? Incredible!

So, in the first few days, tons of tweets and info was sent out about how we could give and help others in Haiti... I wanted to share some links today to continue to keep this issue on our radar and encourage you to prayerfully see what you can do to support the effort to meet the current needs in Haiti... here are three organizations that are doing a great work and need us to give...

CHURCHES HELPING CHURCHES

 

Haiti Earthquake

It's time to Break Free... from Anger

It's no secret... we live in an angry, ticked off world...

This past Sunday, we continued our current teaching series... "Break Free" by looking at Anger... sometimes we show our captivity by either losing our temper (a spewer) or bottling it up until we explode (a stewer)... either way, if anger is controlling us, we are in trouble!

We need freedom, a release, a living under the control of the Holy Spirit instead of being controlled by angry emotions... and because Jesus is alive, we have the hope and power needed to Break Free!

Here is the mp3 download... Download Break Free from Anger

This week at Oasis Church...

Hey guys!

Hope your week is going well... wanted to let you know about 2 important things happening this Sunday @ Oasis Church.

1. We continue our "Break Free" series by looking at ANGER... gonna be a fun, eye-opening, and freeing time as we find freedom from the Bible in dealing with a subject that affects so many of us... it's time to Break Free!

2. Before and after the service, we will have areas set up in the lobby to pray for specific needs in the country of Haiti. I want to encourage you to come early or plan to stay a few minutes after and join in praying for these concerns...let's be a people who know God is in control and trust that He will continue to work miracles in Haiti....

I look forward to worshiping Jesus with you this week at the theaters!

Teaching Download from Sunday, January 17

We are continuing our current teaching series, throughout the month of January, called "Break Free". This past weekend, we talked about the topic of Addictions and how they (habits, compulsions, cravings) control our lives and hold us prisoner... but when we turn these areas over to God and pursue the escape and freedom found in Him, we can be set free!

Here is the mp3 download  Download Break Free from Addictions

This past week's teaching at Oasis Church

This past week, we tackled the topic of Worry... now, I know that nobody else deals with this, but since I do, I thought we'd talk about it!

Here is the mp3 Download Break Free from Worry

and here is the PDF of message transcript. Download Break Free- Worry

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the first day of 2010! I hope you are excited and looking forward to all the possibilities and opportunities that comes with a new year... Happy Twenty Ten!

I would encourage you to realize that this year is NOT about trying to harder to change or better yourself. The truth is, if it is only about us and what we can do, then we have already failed... however, because of the Gospel (the good news that Jesus lived the life we could not, died the death that should have been ours, came back to life proving He is forgiving and all-powerful God, offers us the gifts of grace, mercy, and faith, and is returning soon), we can resolve to live the truth of the Gospel each day in 2010!

That is the goal of Oasis Church... to be a people who live this year in light of the truth of the Gospel... and our first teaching series, starting this Sunday, January 3 at 10:30am, will help us begin 2010. "BREAK FREE" will show us the truth that many of us are being held prisoner by our past and present decisions and attitudes... things like bitterness, anger, and pride are confining and defining us. But because of Jesus, we can be set FREE!

This is the year, the time is now... let's BREAK FREE and enjoy the new life that is offered to us by Jesus!

This is the year... part 4

When it comes to setting (and keeping) resolutions or goals, there are certain criteria that needs to be made on the front end of the goal setting process. I came across this great reminder by Bob Franquiz (bobfranquiz.com), a pastor in Miami, and I wanted to share with you the process of setting SMART goals....

"If you want this year to be different than last year, it all boils down one word: goals. Set good goals and follow through, and you'll see your life go to the next level. But if you walk into 2010 expecting things to change just because the calendar changed and you'll be frustrated this time next year. 

 

So how do you set good goals? Use this 5 point strategy for setting SMART goals:

 

S - Specific - Don't write down "Lose weight" as a goal. Instead write, "I want to lose 25 pounds in 2010."

M - Measurable - taking this 1 step further, I would say that you step on the scale to know where you're starting from. Then I'd add a goal weight, not just a general amount of pounds to be lost.

A - Attainable - Just to stay on the weight loss goal, make the goal attainable. You probably can't lose 100 pounds in a month. So don't set it as a goal. Instead, what's a reasonable amount of weight that you could lose over the course of next year? Make that your goal.

R - Relevant - It has to be your goal. It can't be anyone else's goal. One of the reasons resolutions fail is because the goals we set weren't ours. They were someone else's. Only set goals that are yours. Because those are the only goals we will sacrifice and do whatever it takes to reach. 

T - Time Bound - Goals are dreams with deadlines. So make sure that every goal your set has a deadline attached to it so you can know if it's been met or not. "

So after reading this, what needs to be adjusted in your (and my) goals for 2010?

This is the year... part 3

I have been writing this week on the opportunities that are presented to us this time of year... a chance to dream and pray about what could happen in the days that God gives us in 2010. This really is a time of vision and worship to consider the coming year and how we can use them to go forward in accomplishing the purpose God has for our lives.

With that being said, what are some possible consequences for NOT setting goals? I firmly believe (and this has been born out more then I like to admit!) that a failure to plan is a plan to fail. If you aim for nothing then you hit it every time. The only thing worse (in my mind) then not doing anything with the coming year would be to fail further in different areas of life, simply because we did not set goals to improve these areas... here is what I mean...

No one sets the resolution... this is the year I cheat on my spouse.... and yet, every year this choice is made and marriages (and love and trust) die...

No one sets the resolution... this is the year I get deeper in debt.... and yet, every year this choice is made and family finances implode...

No one sets the resolution... this is the year my kids and I will grow more distant then ever .... and yet, every year this choice is made and families suffer...

No one sets the resolution... this is the year I give up on my faith in Jesus.... and yet, every year this choice is made and any possible connection with God is broken...

You see, this list could go on and on... and I believe in large part it is because we have not set our sights on positive goals in each of these areas.

So, is this true? What areas have I missed? Or have I missed the point in this whole post? What are your thoughts?